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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song (caerulea)
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West Virginia, April 11, 1998Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Song (caerulea)
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Florida, March 05, 2018Recorded by Paul Marvin | Macaulay Library
Song (caerulea)
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West Virginia, April 11, 1998Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Calls (caerulea)
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Maryland, April 28, 1998Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Calls (caerulea)
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Maryland, July 04, 2019Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Song (obscura Group)
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California, June 17, 2008Recorded by Gregory Budney | Macaulay Library
Song (obscura Group)
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California, June 20, 2020Recorded by Bruce Rideout | Macaulay Library
Song (obscura Group)
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Texas, March 29, 2019Recorded by Tayler Brooks | Macaulay Library
Calls (obscura Group)
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Utah, July 09, 1990Recorded by Kevin J. Colver | Macaulay Library
Calls (obscura Group)
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Colorado, May 13, 2012Recorded by Andrew Spencer | Macaulay Library
Calls (Cozumel)
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Quintana Roo, December 30, 2017Recorded by Jay McGowan | Macaulay Library
Calls (Cozumel)
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Quintana Roo, November 01, 1996Recorded by Steve N. G. Howell | Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Males have two song types. The simpler is a variable series of 4 to 8 short, soft phrases. This is sung early in the nesting season and, once nesting has begun, shortly after sunrise and in territorial disputes. It may occasionally be sung on wintering grounds. More complex songs are sung from early morning to midday. These continuous jumbles of sharp chips, high-pitched whistles, and mewing notes are 10 seconds or more long and often include mimicked bits from the repertoires of jays, tanagers, towhees, vireos, warblers, sandpipers, and other species. Songs may be sung from elevated perches, while feeding, or while in motion.

Calls

Both sexes use high-pitched, nasal calls. A sharp, mewing zeee, or chay contact call is uttered in bursts of 2 to 6 notes about a second apart. A two note bee-beee version of this, with the first note slurred downward, seems to indicate mild agitation. Greater agitation provokes high pitched trills. They use a faster, louder, sharper version of the contact call in aggressive encounters. Mobbing calls are similar to these aggressive calls, but more urgent-sounding. Other calls include high-pitched whistles, a two-note hiccup used by the female during nest site selection, and isolated mimicry of other species.

Other Sounds

Loud bill snapping is part of territorial defense and mobbing by both sexes. Snapping usually occurs when diving on an intruder from above or in fluttering aerial combat, often after bursts of aggressive calling.

Compare with Similar Species

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California Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Plumbeous Vireo

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

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Species in This Family

Gnatcatchers(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Polioptilidae)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

California Gnatcatcher

Browse Species in This Family

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